NJ Appellate Law Blog – NJ Appellate Lawyer Bruce D. Greenberg blogs about Appeals and Appellate Law Practice

A Unique Experience Before the Supreme Court of New Jersey

Today, I had the pleasure of arguing an important case involving choice of law, statute of limitations, and federal preemption issues before the Court. But only one Justice, Justice Lavecchia,...

Supreme Court Reaffirms Rendine, Rejects Perdue v. Kenny A.

Walker v. Giuffre, 209 N.J. 124 (2012). In Walker and Humphries v. Powder Mill Shopping Plaza, two different Appellate Division panels had each ruled that restrictive principles governing attorneys' fee awards under federal fee-shifting statutes, as...

Statute That Does Not Afford Jury Trial for Negligent Property Damage Claim is Unconstitutional

Jersey Central Power & Light Co. v. Melcar Utility Co., 212 N.J. 576 (2013). Article I, paragraph 9 of the New Jersey Constitution provides that "the right to trial by jury shall...

Governor Christie Nominates Two to the Supreme Court

Yesterday, Governor Christie announced his nominations to fill the Supreme Court seat that had been occupied by Justice Wallace and the seat the Justice Long will soon vacate as she turns...

Tort Claims Act Bars Bicyclist's Injury Claim Due to Small Depression in Shoulder of Road

Polzo v. County of Essex, 209 N.J. 151 (2012). Plaintiff's wife was riding with other bicyclists on the shoulder of an Essex County road. She rode over a 1-1/4? depression (a dip in...

Supreme Court Will Review Mediation Settlement Case

The Supreme Court announced today that it has granted certification in Willingboro Mall, Ltd. v. 240/242 Franklin Avenue, LLC, 421 N.J. Super. 445 (App. Div. 2011). The decision of the Appellate Division...

An Easy One for the Supreme Court: Plain Statutory Language Controls; Retroactivity Issue Deferred

Selective Ins. Co. v. Rothman, 208 N.J. 580 (2012). The issue in this case, which arose out of the plaintiff insurance company's denial of personal injury protection ("PIP") claims for payment of...

Removal of Judges for Misconduct

One of the saddest days for the judicial system is the day that the Supreme Court finds it necessary to remove a judge from his or her judicial office in...

Discovery Rule Does Not Toll the Time to File a Notice of Claim Against a Public Entity

McDade v. Siazon, 208 N.J. 463 (2011). Under the Tort Claims Act, N.J.S.A. 59:8-8(a), one who wishes to make a tort claim against a public entity must first file a notice of...

Supreme Court Will Review NAACP v. Foulke

The Supreme Court has granted a petition for certification to review the decision of the Appellate Division in NAACP of Camden County East v. Foulke Mgmt. Corp., 421 N.J. Super....

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"Hot Fun in the Summertime": Appellate Division Summer Parts

In an Order available here, Chief Justice Rabner announced the lineup for the Appellate Division's summer Parts. As has been customary, the "summer" runs not between the meteorological start and end dates for summer, nor from Memorial Day to Labor Day, but from June 16 through September 7....

The Supreme Court Confirms That Municipalities Can be Subjected to Sanctions for Frivolous Litigation

Borough of Englewood Cliffs v. Trautner, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This appeal presented the question of whether municipalities can be liable to pay sanctions for frivolous litigation, under the Frivolous Litigation Statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:15-59.1 ("the FLS"). In a 5-0 opinion written by Justice Fasciale (Chief Justice Rabner and Justice Hoffman did not participate), the Court affirmed, as modified, the decision of the Appellate Division that upheld the Law Division's imposition of FLS sanctions against the Borough....

The "Castle Doctrine"

State v. Bragg, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). A jury found defendant guilty of twelve charged counts, including attempted murder, kidnapping, aggravated assault, terroristic threats, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, endangering, and two lesser-included offenses of harassment. Some of those charges involved the use of deadly force. Persons may not use deadly force if the can retreat with complete safety. But under the "castle doctrine," an exception to the general rule, a person "is not obliged to retreat from his dwelling, unless he was the initial aggressor." N.J.S.A. 2C:3-4(b)(2)(b)(i). That doctrine derives from the common law....

No Arbitrariness in Rejection of Public Construction Bid That Failed to Include a Properly Signed, Required Consent of Surety

In the Matter of Protest Filed by El Sol Contracting and Construction Corp., Contract T100.638, ___ N.J. ___ (2025). This public bidding case resulted in a 5-2 split at the Supreme Court, the first non-unanimous ruling of the current Term. Justice Hoffman wrote the majority opinion, while Justice Fasciale authored the dissent for himself and Justice Pierre-Louis....